Parachute



J. CHYTRACEK.. PARACHUTE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1920.

Patented July 9 192W.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

l. CHYTRACEK.

PARAQHUTE. APPLICATION FILED MAR, 12. 1920.

1,345,?) 38., Patented y fi, mm. Fm. 2.

3 SHEETS-SHEET J. CHYTRACEK.

PARACHUTE.

- APPLICATION FILED MAR, 12; 1920.

Patented July 6, 192119..

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

JOSEPH GHYTRACEK, F CLIFTON MILLS, WEST VIRGINIA.

PARACHUTE.

raa asaa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application mea March 12, 1920. aerial no. 365,23t.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that l, JOSEPH CHYTRACEK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Clifton Mills, in the county of Preston and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Parachutes, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in parachutes adapted for the usual purpose of premitting a safe landing of aviators from aeroplanes or like PHI'POSQS.

T he principal object of the invention is to i provide a parachute of extremely simple construction embodying an air bag adapted to be inflated upon the descent of a person using the device and resiliently connected to a jacket or harness so that when the person jumps from the aeroplane or other structure, the jump will be cushioned so as to not cause a shock to the person or wear and tear upon the inflatable bag.

()ther objects will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the in- .vention consisting in the novel form, combination and arran ement of'parts hereinafter fully described, s own in the accompanying drawings, and claimed.

in the drawings, forming a part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a parachute constructed in accordance with the present in ntion and shown as the same would appear when in use during descent,

Fig. 2 is a substantially vertical sectional view thereof, partly broken away, and shown on an enlarged scale,

1 Fig.3 is a top plan view of the cushioning means detached from the inflatable member,

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken at right angles to the line of section of Fi 2,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon line VV of Fig. 4:,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of the cushioning means and F ig. 7 is a perspective view of the'jacket or harness for attaching the parachute to the body of a person.

Referring more in detail to the several Views, the present invention embodies an airtight inflatable bag 5 which is preferably formed of closely woven strong fabric, the bag being closed at its top by means of a fabric wall 6 and being open at its bottom so as to permit free passage of air thereinto so that the bag will be inflated upon the descent of a person equipped with the, same.

The lower edge of the body of the bag 5 is formed with a seam inclosing a stiff wire ring 7 which normally holds the bottom of the bag in circular form as well as open at all times. A plurality of radially arranged springs preferably formed from resilient wire are arranged in the open bottom of the bag 5, the same each comprising a lower substantially horizontally disposed arm 8 and an upwardly and inwardly extending upper arm 9 which are connected and coiled about the wire ring 7 as at 10. The lower arm 8 of each spring has its inner end rigidly fastened to a sleeve 11 which is arranged centrally of the open end of the bag 5, and the upper arm 9 of each spring has its inner end pivotally fastened as at 12 to the upper portion of a second sleeve 13 which is of slightly greater diameter than the sleeve 11 and into which the said sleeve 11 telescopes. lhe arms 8 and 9 of the springs normally tend to separate so as to separate the sleeves 11 and 13, and in order to limit the separation of said sleeves. A spider 14: provided with radial arms 15 is arranged within the sleeve 11 and extended through the latter as well as through vertically elongated slots 16 provided in the upper sleeve 13.

A horizontally disposed cross bar 17 is disposed upon the upper edge of the upper sleeve 13 substantially centrally of the lat ter, and the oppositeends of this cross bar Patented July e, raao.

are extended beyond the sides of the sleeve at each side of the sleeve 13, and a strap 20 is attached to each loop 19 at its upper end and to a shoulder loop 21 at its lower end, the shoulder loops 21 being provided on a jacket 22 which is adapted to be worn by a 'person as clearly shown in Fig. 1' after the manner of avest.

The cross bar 17 may be secured 1n its bar 17 and said upper spring arms.

When the present parachute is required for use, the person slips the jacket 22 on in an obvious manner and upon jumping from an aeroplane or other structure'high in the air, the bag 5 will be immediately mflated and assume a position above the person as seen in Fig. 1 so that resistance is offered to the descent of said person to the ground. When this jump takes place, a pull is exerted upon the straps so as to cause downward movement of the sleeve 13 upon the sleeve 11 against the action of the upper spring arms so as to not jar the person or strain the para 9. Obviously, this causes a cushioning efi'ect chute parts. o A pull cord or rope 24 is fastened at its upper end, to the central portion of the upper endwall 6 of the bag 5 as at 25, and the same extends downwardly through the sleeves 1 1 and 13 to a point within convenient reach of the person employing the parachute. By exerting a downward pull upon the pull cord 24, the bag 5 canbe collapsed tothe desired extent during the descent so as to re ulate to a certain extent the rate of speed 0 fall. It will be apparent that if the bag 5 is collapsedto a'material extent, the.

same will offer less resistance to the descent than when entirely inflated, and thus the CEK, affix my thereof appreciated from the foregoing descri tioninor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What-is claimed as new is:

1. A parachute comprising an inflated-air bag closed' at its upper end and open at its bottom end, a ring for maintaining the bottom of the bag open at all times, inwardly extending radial springs carried by said ring and including upper and lower arms, a sleeve arranged centrally within the 0 en end of the air bag and rigidly fastene to the inner ends of the lower spring arms, a second sleeve telescoping thefirst and pivotally connected with the inner ends of the upper spring arms, and an attaching harness connected-with the second sleeve.

2. A parachute comprising an inflated air bag closedat its ppper end and open at its bottom end, a ring for maintaining the bottom of the bag open at all times, inwardly extending radial springs carried by said ring and including upper and lower arms, a sleeve arranged centrally within the open end of the air bag and rigidly fastened tothe inner ends of the lower spring arms, a second sleeve telescoping the first and pivotally connected with the inner ends of the upper spring arms, a cross bar rigidly fastened upon the second named sleeve with its ends projecting beyond the o posite sides of the latter, a pair of straps fastened to the ends of said cross bar, and a jacket fastened to said straps.

In testlmony whereof I, JOSEPH GHYTRA- personal signature. JOSEPH CHYTRAGEK. 

